


Under the Moons of Darillium: Part 13 The Auton at the Bookstore

by Stardance1



Series: Under the Moons of Darillium: A Night of Adventures [13]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio), The Diary of River Song (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: F/M, Post-Episode: 2015 Xmas The Husbands of River Song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 04:21:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17237327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stardance1/pseuds/Stardance1
Summary: The Doctor and River are after-Christmas shopping, but beyond quaint stores and festive trees they've uncovered a Nestene plot to take over Darillium. How will they neutralize this threat, and recover all that has been lost?





	Under the Moons of Darillium: Part 13 The Auton at the Bookstore

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that this is part 13 of a series!

The heavy metallic base of the Doctor’s chair scraped across the Tardis floor as he one-handedly dragged it behind him to move it closer to River.  
It was a black leather chair without armrests which could normally be found in his console room practice corner, along with a few backup guitars and an old rusty amp.  
He was fond of the chair because it had a wide comfortable seat, and a backrest that was made of three separate cylindrical pillow cushions, which he thought looked pretty cool.  
But he forgot all of that when he saw River easily pull along the lightweight whicker frame of a grey oval papasan chair, packed with pillows.  
She brought it right up to the console edge, gracefully climbed in, then picked up her feet and reclined them on the Tardis control board.  
As the opening scenes of a black and white picture rolled across the console monitor screen, she produced a bowl of grapes from behind a pillow.  
Now this was too much the Doctor thought grumpily, giving one last pull to his glorified metal office chair and creating a rather substantial SCREECH with the floor.  
“SHHHH” River exclaimed, picking up one of her grapes and throwing it squarely at his head.  
He easily caught it in his hand and ate it. It was an explosion of sweetness.  
“River! Where did you get rainbow colored Tellus IV grapes? And as a matter of fact, where did that chair come from?”  
River shrugged innocently, “No clue, when I came down they were just here, I presume the Tardis…”  
“Yes, yes,” the Doctor grumbled as he sat in his chair and crossed his arms, "she adores you, child of the Tardis, we all get it…”  
River smiled sweetly at him and then directed her eyes back at the screen, engrossed in the story that was playing out.  
“River, this movie is silent, you can’t shush me during a silent…”  
A pillow flew over and hit the top of his head.  
…”Ha! Your loss!” he said placing the large crimson velvet cushion on his back and reclining.  
River smiled to herself, then turned back to watch the movie and continued to eat her grapes.  
A few minutes later, the Doctor loudly scoffed, “Wait, are you telling me that that Phantom Carriage belongs to Death and that the chosen Reaper drives it across the world with that slow, lame horse 150,000 times per day across oceans and continents? That’s completely illogical!”  
River turned her head and snapped, “This film, which revolutionized the movie industry in the 1920s is a feat of narrative storytelling and contemporary technology! It is a profoundly moving story about repentance and forgiveness and responsibility!”  
“You know what I really don’t understand, is how you can go on and on and on about silent film and at the same time be obsessed with audio dramas. Both of them can’t cultivate imagination, one without sound and the other with only sound!…. Really River, I had no idea you were so contradictory.”  
“Contradictory!?!” River stood up and retrieved a bowl of popcorn from behind another hidden cushion; then dumped it directly over the Doctor’s head. It rained down on him like a buttery blizzard. “And you’re the soul of consistency? You are constantly eating or cooking or planning what to eat or cook, yet you throw around insults like “pudding brain”, when I happen to know that you love puddings; you say you won’t be a professor, but you literally have dozens of blackboards on each Tardis deck that you’re forever writing on and god forbid someone so much as asks you for directions before you recite a personalized 'city on a hill' soliloquy at them!”  
The Doctor leaned to one side of his chair, gathered a fistful of popcorn and threw it up in the air.  
Fluffy popcorn kernels rained down like confetti around River and became trapped in her curls. She tried to shake them out, but they only clung harder to her hair. She shook her hair out again and curls bounced across her face and tickled her nose.  
Her eyes flashed and she looked over at the Doctor, a split second before they both burst into laughter.  
She sat down on his lap while he picked out popcorn from her hair.  
“What was that about again?”  
“I wanted to sit in the chair with you…”  
River laughed and covered her eyes in frustration. “It’s a double papasan chair, why didn’t you?”  
“You wanted to watch your film…”  
“And?”  
“And between this movie and the proximity to your…. um, face... I wouldn’t have lasted 20 minutes in that chair with you, without making love to you. And I was annoyed at myself.”  
“And you thought that being one chair over was going to save you?” She leaned back against his chest before raising her arms and wrapping them around his neck. He leaned his head forward and swooped his lips down over hers. He kissed her haltingly, his lips brushing against hers, his tongue tracing the blush fullness of her lips… a minute later his arms had tightened around her and he’d deepened the kiss. When she moaned, he willingly surrendered all pretense; picked her up, sat on the papasan chair, and placed her on his lap.  
He moved a pillow so that he could lean further back to pull her fully astride, and in so doing knocked over an unopened box of chocolate malt balls.  
He growled, his eyebrows comically furling in anger and River dissolved into laughter. He stripped them both and made love to her.  
Postcoital malt balls are all the more delicious, the Doctor concurred, as he and River watched the end of the film curled up together on the papasan.  
The Doctor leaned over and kissed the top of her head, “So, tell me really, why are you so fascinated with this film, because it isn’t the flashbacks or ghosts or the philosophical understanding of the inevitability of death and our shared responsibility in life…"  
“You were listening?”  
“I always listen River…but I know you, and I know for you there’s always a moment…."  
“Okay, there’s this moment…"  
“Mmmhhmmm"  
"That everyone always ignores, it’s a complete throw away moment in the middle of the film…. where Edit…"  
“Is that the Salvation Army girl who is dying?"  
"Yes. She has made it her mission to save this man, the main character...she’s madly in love with him, and yet when his estranged wife is found she does everything that she can do to bring them back together, believing it’s the best way to save him.”  
“And?"  
"And, I watch that moment, over and over, and she doesn’t even hesitate. Every time I wonder, could I do that? Could I give you up, no, could I give you over to someone else that I don’t know and I don’t trust, if it means saving you… I want to say that I would, but…” River takes his hands and places them over her hearts. The Doctor can feel her hearts in her chest, beating wildly, racing and pumping at full force, “Even in a hypothetical situation, I can’t fully fathom it…” she buries her head in his neck…”It would kill me to have to let you go.”  
He stroked her hair and gently chuckled… “I wouldn’t want you to.”  
“What?”  
“I wouldn’t want you to give me up River.”  
She nodded, she felt the same… and yet… “It’s my job to keep you safe,” she added fiercely.  
He held her tighter in his arms…”River, you don’t have to dwell on this, I know you and you always do your best to choose what’s right.” He kissed the tip of her nose, “And as for the rest, even if you gave me away you couldn’t be rid of me, I’d never let that stand. I promise you."  
Then she looked up at him and they grinned at each other… “So, did you like the Phantom Carriage.”  
“I did! More than I thought I would… but, next time I get to choose the film…”  
“Oh?”  
“Yes!”  
“Like what?”  
“Well, since you like black and white films, maybe Captain Blood? It’s one of my favorites! You know once I went to this 5000 years of cinema festival on the actual Planet Hollywood and Captain Blood was plugged as one of a thousand and one movies to see before you die. Not that I understand what happens if you die without seeing a film…but, I saw it each of the three times it was screened.”  
River laughed as she excitedly knelt next to the Doctor. She climbed on top of him, placing her hands on his shoulders to shake him slightly. “I was there too!”  
“What?!?”  
“I sat in the balcony and I watched Captain Blood each of the three afternoon’s of the festival!”  
“I was in the main deck!”  
River smiled at him, placed a kiss on his cheek, and laid her head down on his chest. “Swashbuckling pirates, the open sea, adventures galore, I can’t wait to see it again, with you Doctor.”  
He snuggled her closer and brushed a knuckle across her cheek. “I wouldn’t wish it any other way.” He kissed her momentarily… then jumped up and ran out of the room… He shouted back at her… “I’ll get the hats and swords, you bring the snacks!” 

_________________________________ 

The streets of the nearby town of New Clovelly were not unlike most other quaint main streets on terra-colonized planets, including the Old Earth. Fairy lights outlined the main street boutiques, and a perfect dusting of snow covered the cobblestoned walkways. Each shop was flaunting its Christmas-wares and decorations: from garlands to trimmed trees to lifesized nutcrackers.  
River breathed in the crisp cold air, filled with the sweet scent of outdoor vendors roasting and caramelizing nuts. She didn’t even have to look over her shoulder to know that the Doctor had already wandered off to purchase a pouch. She paused to look in a toy store shop window, and pass the time until the Doctor rejoined her.  
A few moments later, as she was considering the wisdom of purchasing gifts like bicycles, puppets, or glow-in-the-dark projection solar systems, the Doctor came up next to her and offered her a still warm nut.  
As it melted, the cinnamon and sugar coated her tongue and filled her mind with countless happy Christmas memories.  
She smiled up at the Doctor.  
“Good, aren’t they?” he asked her with a wink.  
River nodded approvingly, then took the Doctor's hand and walked along the street, pulling him along slightly.  
“Come on!” she cajoled.  
“Why are we going after-Christmas sale shopping again?”  
“You aren’t fond of crowds so it made more sense to let the holiday pass before venturing out. Also, it’s been almost a year since I gave you that gift card for the bookstore up ahead, and you promised we could peruse the aisles together.”  
“Fine,” the Doctor said in unconvinced conformity. Then he pulled his hand free and ran back to the street vendor. “I’ll bring tea and tidbits!” 

___________________________________ 

The bookstore, Collodi’s Caravan of Dreams, was famous across Darillium.  
It was massive, spanning an entire city block, and at five stories it was one of the tallest buildings in the town’s shopping district. Not only was its selection of books meant to be the most expansive, but it was well known that you could spend hour upon hour in the shop lost in a book, and no one would ever bother you.  
But as River set foot into the bookstore, all of that became secondary.  
The heavy wood and glass door was meant to jingle in alert of a guest entrance, but so too would the typical gasp of delight heard from the entering parties.  
Inside, the rows of colorful books stretched stories high, and every nook and cranny revealed a whimsical secret. Warm, welcoming fireplaces crackled on the main floor, surrounded by every manner of reading area…small intimate tables with chairs, sofas and armchairs, and large puffed sack chairs. Within the aisles of shelving themselves, padded corners and square tuffets allowed you to immediately engross yourself in the written word.  
From the domed ceiling, delicate paper snowflakes cascaded to the ground twinkling in the light, and a massive Christmas tree towered at least 30 feet into the air, dwarfing all who stood in its shadow.  
River took off her coat and made herself comfortable at a small table. The Doctor who had entered moments behind her dragged over an armchair and tore open a steaming bag of flaky meat pasties.  
River tried to hide her smile.  
He was so impossibly endearing.  
He handed her a pasty, removed his coat and hat, and then sauntered off into the aisles.  
River claimed one of the cups of tea which the Doctor had placed on the table, took out her Darillium journal, and began to scribble away.  
She was so absorbed in her own writings that she hadn’t noticed the pair of eyes that had been transfixed on her from the moment she’d sat down and shaken the snow out of her hair. 

________________________________ 

A little girl, no more than 8 or 9, with hungry eyes and a slightly disheveled appearance, coughed slightly to get River’s attention. River looked up and closed her journal.  
She smiled at the young girl.  
“Hello sweetie, what can I do for you?”  
“Your pasties smell very good.”  
“Would you like one?”  
The child shook her head sadly, as though the effort of declining was too much to bear.  
River picked up the small meat pie and placed it firmly in the child’s hand.  
“I insist. Sit down and eat it, my husband is wandering around and you can keep me company for a moment.”  
The child quickly finished the pasty and darted her hand out to the torn sack for another helping.  
River smiled at the child. She had unkempt golden red hair and a worn woolen coat that seemed to have been mis-buttoned in haste. But the child shook her head to decline, face half buried in the warm meat pie.  
“My name is River, what’s yours?”  
“Hannah.” she responded, her soft hazel eyes looking up to meet River.  
“Do you like to come here Hannah?”  
She nodded and brushed crumbs off her face with her coat sleeve. “Yes, I like to read and be read to…”  
“Does the owner read to you?”  
“Collodi?”  
“Is that his name?”  
She shrugged. “I think so, or that’s what every one calls him. He’s very nice, but he doesn’t speak. I like to read and sometimes people will read to me.”  
“I see. Shall I read to you then?”  
“Please.”  
River smiled at her and stood up. “I’ll need to get a book. Do you have a favorite?”  
“You choose.”  
River wandered to the back corner of the store and found the children’s section.  
She reverently touched the spines of the books as she walked passed.  
Somewhere in the store she could hear the Doctor's laughter as he argued with a book he’d found. She knelt down and discovered an old wooden crate shoved under a table. It contained well worn copies of classics probably set aside to be rebound. River picked one up and smiled to herself.  
She walked back to the table to find the child deeply engrossed in her diary.  
Now River coughed to get her attention, “I beg your pardon, but that’s not published to read. And if it were, it wouldn’t be a children’s book.”  
The little girl looked up and smiled at River. “Sorry, it is such a pretty cover I had to look. The stories are wonderful. I love adventures.”  
River sat down in the chair and opened the anthology to the story that she was going to read.  
“You’ll need to set the journal aside now so that I can read this to you.”  
The little girl acquiesced, and the Doctor, who had silently wandered over and sat down in a taller armchair close to the fire, watched the scene unfold, his book momentarily forgotten in his lap. On the other side of the store, the owner, stepped out of the shadows and crept closer to listen to River as she read.  
River read out a classic story from Old Earth. It was about a snail who longed to travel, and a whale who had taken him to explore the world. Together they'd see oceans and volcanos, mountains and beaches. And when the whale was in trouble, the snail was able to rescue him. And together they'd became the best of friends and continued to travel to see the world.  
“Can a snail and a whale really become friends?” Hannah asked innocently, as she reached to the bag and took the last pasty.  
“Of course! Anyone can become friends.”  
“You and your husband go on adventures like the snail and the whale.”  
River smiled and nodded. “He’s rather like the whale.”  
“But you don’t seem like a snail.”  
River laughed. The Doctor walked over and sat down. “Did she just eat the last pasty?” he asked, taking a sip from his large tea cup.  
River silenced him by smirking and placing a finger over her lips.  
She continued to speak to Hannah.  
“Hannah, shall we walk you home.”  
Hannah just shook her head no, her mouth still full of rich pastry.  
"You’re really good with kids,” she said matter-of-factly when she’d had the chance to swallow and steal a sip of tea from River’s unfinished teacup.  
"Thank you,” River responded amused and honored.  
"Do you have any?"  
“Nope, none yet.”  
"Don’t you like kids."  
“Of course I do, or at least some of them!” she said with a laugh.  
"What about your husband, he looks kind of grumpy."  
“Well…,” River winked at the Doctor, “that’s just his eyebrows. Actually he can make all sorts of funny faces. And he likes kids, I promise.”  
The Doctor coughed unconvincingly.  
“Yeah?” Hannah asked, looking from River to the Doctor.  
"Yeah…sometimes he sings me lullabies so that I can sleep. He wakes me up if I’m having a nightmare. He makes my favorite things for breakfast, like caramel pancakes. We travel the world together, and he always makes me feel safe."  
“That’s important.” Hannah nodded solemnly.  
"So now back to your parents….”  
"My parents own a shop down the street… I just like to come here and read.”  
“We’ll walk you back.” River insisted.  
Hannah nodded. “Our shop is closed because my Da is missing. He disappeared and my Mammy is worried. I was in the way over there.”  
River and the Doctor exchanged glances and they both stood up.  
“You stay here with the Doctor Hannah. I’ll check out and then we’ll walk back to your shop together. Perhaps we can help."  
River picked up a pile of… 10… books that the Doctor had selected and took them to the counter.  
The owner, hobbled slowly back his arthritic body encumbering his movement. He had a kind and softly worn face, not unlike the leather bindings of well loved books.  
He looked at River and smiled, writing out her receipt and processing the gift card and credits.  
River met his cool steel blue eyes which were ghostly pale as they peered at her in curiosity from behind thick spectacles. She felt slightly mesmerized but thanked him and turned, walking to meet the Doctor and Hannah by the entrance.  
The Doctor momentarily looked almost as frazzled as the bouncing Hannah.  
River smiled softly to herself, pulled open the door, and beckoned them on into the moonlit street. 

 

________________________________ 

The festively decorated street was almost empty. Vendors were shuffling their carts home, and the twinkle of lantern and fairy lights flickered gently in the wind.  
Under the moons of Darillium, everything should have still existed in the frivolity of holiday haze, but one darkened shop corner proved that malice was underfoot.  
River climbed the three steps to the heavy glass door, and pushed it open. The light from indoors had been muted by heavy curtained fabrics.  
She stepped inside what was a simple furniture store. Wooden bed posts and rocking chairs and solid tables were strewn about, some with simple decorations or big red bows.  
“We’re closed!” a voice from the back rang out, and River turned to Hannah and the Doctor.  
“You stay here,” River told them, “I’ll talk to Hannah’s mother and be right back.” She set down the bag of purchased books and walked briskly to the back of the shop.  
Hannah sat on a display bed and the Doctor sat down in the closest rocking chair. They were expertly made and carved.  
He admired the dark sheen of the veneer.  
“You are the Doctor.”  
“Is that what my wife said?”  
“She didn’t say, but I read it in her book.”  
“You really shouldn’t go around reading other people’s books.”  
“It’s very good. It’s about you.”  
“Really?”  
"Are you from outer space?"  
“No, of course not! Nobody is from outer space, I’m from a planet like everyone else.”  
River walked up behind them. "Care to rephrase that Sweetie?” she asked.  
The Doctor coughed, "All ordinary beings like us Hannah, are from planets... Celestial angels like my wife are from other places …"  
"Like heaven?"  
He grinned at her. “Like heaven,… and like asteroids."  
“Is that like a meteor?"  
"Well asteroids are usually bigger but they both orbit around a sun, so yes, like a meteor.”  
"What if a meteor were to fall on Darillium?"  
"Well then it would be called a meteorite, but you really don’t have to worry about that kind of thing Hannah. Meteorites usually get burned up in the atmosphere if they fall.”  
"But I’ve seen them, lots of them, falling from the sky… they don’t burn up. They’re clear like crystals and I can hear them. They ring like the bell on the door at times.”  
The Doctor looked at River. His eyes suddenly a pool of concern. His jaw had tensed and he stood up.  
River knelt down next to the bed. “Hannah, it’s very important. Where did you see those meteorites.” 

 

__________________________________ 

River walked through the thick forest, a heavy mist carpeted the ground. Slush and vegetation muffled the sound of her steps against the frozen ground. In one hand she carried her computer, in the other, a rough diagram that Hannah had provided.  
The Doctor held a lantern out in front of them, trying his best to illuminate the non-existent path forward.  
"I think we’re meant to go right,” the Doctor whispered in her ear, his voice melted over her like liquid velvet and River nodded mutely.  
The closest moons were high in the eastern sky, casting long shadows to the west. 

River was engrossed in some new computer readings when her foot slipped on some wet moss.  
She should have tumbled to the ground, but the Doctor caught her around the waist and pulled her to him.  
In the warm glow of the lantern light, with the shadows creeping all around them, River paused to admire the Doctor’s face. It was serious and wise, concerned and confident, independent and trusting.  
She stuffed the map into her pocket and gave into the compulsion to caress his face.  
She placed her whole hand on his cheek, stroking it gently with her thumb.  
She licked her lips. “The um, the readout is that the harvesting field that Hannah mentioned, where her father collected the lumber for his furniture store is about 100 yards that way.”  
The Doctor brushed her bottom lip with his thumb. River took a step closer and fitted herself to his chest. She wrapped her arm around his neck and brought his lips to hers.  
When she could slightly pull away, she whispered against his lips, “we should go.”  
He nodded.  
And hand in hand they walked to the small clearing.  
Suddenly the low mist cleared and River and the Doctor stood in a pockmarked minefield, surrounded by orbs of creamy white plastic, firmly stuck in the ground.  
River pulled out her sonic and scanned it.  
She nodded gravely to the Doctor, "it’s as you feared, they’re plastic meteorites. The Nestenes are invading.” 

 

___________________________________

The Doctor knelt next to River in the field, he pulled her back slightly from the glowing spheres.  
“Don’t touch them.”  
But in the ground, a strange glow began to emanate from the orbs, and the air filled with the piercing sound of ringing. River and the Doctor stood up, River covered her ears.  
“It’s so loud!"  
“Let’s get out of here River!”  
But she shook her head, “200 yards that way is a recycling plant, that must be their base. I’ll go there and assess everything, you take the Tardis to the nearest radio telescope.”  
“River, I don’t want to leave you here.”  
River touched his face, “And I don’t want you to go!” she screamed back, and then ran into the forest.  
The Doctor took a deep breath, then turned and ran in the direction of the Tardis. 

 

_______________________________________ 

River ran the 200 yards to the Recycling Plant. It was a dark and dirty gray complex, where foul toxic black soot clogged the air. River struggled to breathe, but she ran inside with her sonic screwdriver in hand.  
Papers were strewn about as though the factory floor were disused. Industrial bowl lights hung few and far between from the ceiling, barely lighting the room. River's boots clanked softly into the floor as she ran. Shadows cast in front of her from every direction.  
In another room, huge vats were melting and mixing multi-colored plastic pellets in with recovered nestene meteorite blobs.  
Out from behind a vat stepped a man, tall and muscular, with poorly cropped black hair and a full beard. He stared at River with dead eyes and a shiver passed through her body.  
“You must be Eric.” River said out loud to no one really but herself.  
Eric spoke, but out of his mouth the eerie sounds of multiple voices echoed. “We are of the Mother Consciousness of the Nestenes. We have been called to this planet by large quantities of polymer chains. We will be making this our colony.”  
“Well, you’re more than welcome to the plastic, no one wants it anymore. Take it with you back to your own planet.”  
“Soon our Auton forces will rise from this plastic melting pot. They will go on to conquer this planet, and place you and many others under our telepathic control, we will gain both plastic and protein resources from your peoples and your land.”  
From the goopy mixture in the vat River could swear that faces were being formed. In the air sound waves suddenly reverberated through her and blasted into her mind.  
River covered her ears and screamed. She zapped the tanks with her sonic screwdriver and texted the Doctor on her computer, all the while screaming “NOW Doctor, do it NOW!!!” before falling in pain to the cement floor. 

__________________________________ 

The Doctor ran into the Tardis and located the nearest radio telescope on the monitor.  
He set the controls forward and re-materialized the Tardis beneath the base of the large telescope.  
It was white and fragile, like a giant erector set model.  
It was not at all as large as he had hoped for.  
He began to panic, he didn’t have the time, he knew, to go through the building and covertly enter the controls room and convince everyone he belonged.  
River needed him dammit, and he couldn’t fail her.  
Even if it lacked precision he’d have to figure out how to shoot a targeted electromagnetic wave, full force, at the recycling plant.  
He took some cables and began to climb the slippery white metal lattice of the multi-beam antenna.  
Just then, his twin communicator beeped.  
It was River.  
'NOW!' was the only message she’d been able to type.  
With all his strength he scrambled up, connected his cables to the payload sensors and slid back down.  
Running into the Tardis he entered the coordinates into the computer and pushed off an EMF burst as close to the power plant as he could. 

 

________________________________________ 

The Doctor materialized outside of the Recycling Plant.  
He ran inside, and found River standing over Hannah’s father, placing a cool cloth on his forehead.  
“River!” he shouted to her and embraced her. “You didn’t respond!”  
“…because my communicator and computer…”  
“were fried in the EMF burst.”  
River bopped his nose. “Bingo… Eric is fine. He’s unconscious at the moment, but all life signs are stable. The transmitter that received the relay signal is broken. The Autons are a plastic soup, and the Nestenes are back in their own minds on their own planet.”  
“Shall we take him back River?”  
“Not yet Doctor, can you take that wheel barrel and collect the remaining plastic meteorites?”  
“But the cluster has been destroyed River, it can’t be re-animated.”  
“Well, I have an idea to make sure.”  
So River used her sonic screwdriver and rewired the Recycling vats. When the Doctor returned she had the plastic at its melting point.  
At her bidding the Doctor tossed in the remaining translucent plastic polyhedrons.  
She set cycle to mix, and then released it to multiple vats.  
“What are you doing River?”  
“It’s a neat trick Doctor, that I learned on the planet Mogar… Instead of recycling this back into plastic, we’re breaking down the polymer chains. A chemical reaction will occur, extracting all of the organic compounds. Then, plastic eating bacteria will consume and digest anything that hasn’t sufficiently broken down. This plastic can never again be repurposed and remade into Autons.”  
The Doctor embraced her and spun her around. “That’s amazing! You’re amazing!”  
But River just happily shook her head, “No, you did it Doctor. You found and destroyed the transmitter. Without you I’d be in their mental control right now.” 

 

___________________________________ 

River and the Doctor stepped out of the furniture shop hand in hand.  
They had returned Eric to his family and he was already up and about.  
“All is well that ends well…” the Doctor said, leaning down and placing a kiss on the top of River’s snowy head. “Shall we go back to the Tardis now?”  
In response, River shook her head sadly, her lips in a soft pout.  
She squeezed his hand. “I’d love to go home, get in the bath tub…soak….” she leaned up and whispered something in the Doctor’s ear that made him blush and then sputter into a coughing fit. River continued, "but alas, Doctor our work is not done. I’m afraid we have one or two more stops before we get dinner and go to bed.”  
He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. But followed along as River walked back to the bookstore with him in tow.  
She walked in and made a beeline straight to the register.  
The owner stepped out from an internal room to great them.  
But upon seeing River and the Doctor back again, he looked at them slightly perplexed.  
River began, "We came back here because you took my book … I’m sorry but it’s a journal that I’m not done with, and if you’ve read it, you know why it’s important that I get it back."  
The owner looked down at his shelves behind the register, and pulled out River’s Darillium diary from the bottom counter shelf.  
She spoke again, "Earlier when I was reading the story to the little girl, I saw that you were listening. I also noticed that you looked terrified when she was talking about the meteorites… I saw your eyes flash with pain and fear when she mentioned that her father was missing… But there was something else… there was guilt…”  
River reached out and covered his hand with hers before speaking again, "Collodi’s Caravan of Dreams, it’s a clever name isn’t it… but is it his dream that you are fulfilling, or your own Pinnochio?”  
Both the Doctor and Collodi stared wide eyed at her  
"Of course!" the Doctor whispered behind her.  
"Because you’re living plastic aren’t you? You can’t speak because you are a damaged Auton unit from a past invasion attempt or perhaps you even came over with the human colonists. It doesn’t really matter. What matters Collodi is that when the swarm leader landed, you hid. When the the cluster of space capsule energy units landed, you could hear their ringing calls, but you didn’t activate them. You didn’t help further the invasion of Darillium and you were able to resist any control they might have on you.”  
The old man stared simply at River and the Doctor, and then he placed his other hand over hers.  
She smiled at him. "We aren’t going to give you away, as long as you promise to warn us if another invasion arises."  
He turned and walked back into the office and came out with a delicate blue lace ornament.  
He handed it to River and then hugged her stiffly.  
She passed it to the Doctor and returned the hug of the kindly owner.  
“The blue fairy,” the Doctor whispered as he watched River pat the damaged Auton on his back.  
“Don’t worry, the transmitter was destroyed, the trees dampened the signal so it wouldn’t reach you, the rest of the plastic is gone…” River grinned and winked at him, "and you’ve got no strings to hold you back.” 

 

___________________________________ 

The Doctor and River sat in a large theater, its walls covered in fresco paintings and carved relief sculptures which depicted famous dramatic scenes from classic plays.  
The Doctor shifted uncomfortably in the balcony of the huge theater.  
“It’s a full house!” he whispered at River.  
“Shhhh!” she smiled back, “The curtain will be opened at any moment!”  
“Why are we here again?”  
“To see Collodi perform in the Nutcracker as the wooden toy soldier that dances with the vivandiere doll.”  
“And you knew that was his dream how?”  
River grinned, “the decorations in the book store, towering Christmas tree and snowflakes… it was pretty evident”  
“How did you even know about this production?”  
River shrugged, “One of the Voord is playing the rat king!"  
“No!"  
River grinned again, “Yes! It will play through the end of Twelvetide. And next Christmas I’ve heard that Collodi will be a shoe-in for the role of Drosselmeyer!”  
With that the lights dimmed, River laid her head on the Doctor’s shoulder, and they watched the ballet commence.  
The Doctor chuckled to himself, it was certainly a magical time of year, and quite often his wife seemed to be the source of that magic. “Blue fairy indeed!” he whispered softly into her hair, as he watched the young children dance with the small wooden Nutcracker on the stage. 

_____________________________________ 

When they returned home to the Tardis, River and the Doctor sat in the kitchen, absolutely famished, and stuffed anything that they could find into their mouths…. while they sipped on hot tea of course.  
River jokingly collapsed against him, “I’m so exhausted, I never want to leave again.”  
“That sounds perfect,” the Doctor said honestly, ruffling her hair with one hand.  
He paused.  
It was a long pause.  
And then he took a deep breath.  
River, knowing him so well, sat up and looked concerned.  
“What’s the matter, Doctor…”  
“Hannah read your Darillium journal, Collodi read your Darillium journal, you hand it to Nardole all the time to make notes for you. Why can’t I see it... there are no spoilers...”  
River shifted her chair to face the Doctor. She bit her bottom lip in concentration and thought about the right thing to say.  
“The journal isn’t just for you, it’s about you…. it’s about us and our time here. I don’t want you to read it yet because … I’m not ready to think about what happens next, after this night is over. When I give it to you, you’ll have it, and all of this will be a beautiful memory. But for now…It just…it would be too sad to look back when we’re still able to look forward.”  
He nodded solemnly and pulled her back against him. “I trust you River, and when you want me to read it, I promise you I’ll be ready to read it.”  
They retired to their bedroom, each changing in their own closet.  
River was already under the covers when he emerged, her head resting on her pillow, and her eyes gently closed.  
On his pillow was a torn page from her diary.  
She turned over and faced him, looking up so that their eyes met.  
She breathed in and exhaled slowly. “It's stories and thoughts and poems. And I wanted you to have something now.”  
The Doctor looked down at the piece of paper.  
A note that shone with love, in his wife’s own hand.  
He doubted any gift could mean more.  
He took off his slippers.  
Got under the covers.  
Placed his arm around River, and asked her softly, his voice cracking…”Would you…read it to me?”  
She smiled up at him, took the sheet into her hand, and read… 

"If I could hold on to you for a moment  
My lips would tremble out your name,  
I’d run faster than a zephyr's wind  
Ignite swifter than a flame  
  
I would reach for you with all my strength  
Tangle my fingers in your hair,  
Bury my face into your neck  
Clutch your collar until threadbare  
  
If I could throw my arms around you  
And pretend our lives could run the same,  
I’d will the very fibers of my being  
To weave themselves into your frame  
  
If I could dissolve my own skin  
Entwine it to your DNA,  
I’d cross through space and time with you...  
Cherish you throughout all days  
  
Or if I could hold you here with my life  
Stare through the vortex and never blink,  
I’d stand for eternity on this spot  
Still compelled to immortalize you in ink  
  
But no one gets forever  
Not heroes, nor professor convicts on the run  
No choice but to make this night worth remembering...  
No choice but to leave you certain that my heart’s been won.”

With that, the Doctor wrapped her up in his arms, and vowed to show her… with every fiber of his being, how much he reciprocated the sentiment. 

 

______________________________________

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading along! Come back each week for more of the Doctor and River Song's Darillium adventures. Next week: Part 14 - The Lost Pleiad!


End file.
